Light Weight Metal Framing Member

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides for a lightweight metal framing member having a plurality of depressions and a plurality of reinforcing ribs on the surface thereof, the depressions and ribs both being inwardly oriented and cooperating to aid in stiffening of the metal stud. The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a metal framing member having a plurality of depressions and a plurality of reinforcing ribs on the surface thereof, the depressions and ribs both being inwardly oriented and cooperating to aid in stiffening of the metal stud. The method utilizes a cold roll forming apparatus having a first roller with a plurality of projections on its surface and a second roller having a surface provided with holes aligned with the projections on the surface of the first roller to form the depressions in the surface of the material having clearly defined edges generally aligned with the plane of the metal sheet. A second roll forming apparatus is used having a first roller with projections on its surface to form the reinforcing ribs in the surface of the sheet material and a second roller to allow for a softer transition between the surface of the sheet material and the edges of the reinforcing ribs and so as not to unduly deform the depressions formed in the first roll forming step. A third roll forming apparatus is used having rollers to form the metal stud or track.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to metal framing members for use inconstructing partition walls. In particular, the invention relates tometal studs and tracks for use in partition walls wherein the stud ortrack is provided with one or more patterns of projections to stiffenthe material utilized in forming the metal stud or track and to enhancescrew gripping.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is common practice in residential and many commercial buildings toseparate the various rooms by partition walls to define the space of theroom. Such partition walls are generally load bearing and have in thepast been constructed of wood members including top and bottom platesand bridging studs. The use of wood members has its shortcomings, thesupply of lumber is getting scarce, costs have increased during recentyears. In addition, wood can warp and go out of shape when it becomeswet as well as being susceptible to fire damage and attack by vermin ofvarious kinds.

In recent years, partition walls framed with sheet metal members havebeen employed. The use of sheet metal members provides advantages ofdimensional stability, ease of manufacturing and conservation of naturalresources among others. However, the use of sheet metal framing membershas not gained widespread acceptance for various reasons. For example,the cost of the materials utilized to form metal studs has beenincreasing and the price advantages of metal studs over wood studs isdecreasing. There have been attempts in the past to reduce the cost ofthe material utilized to form the metal stud by providing stiffeningstructures to the metal to allow a thinner and less expensive metal tobe used for a particular duty. For example, Swiss Patent CH486281describes a sheet material having rows of alternating projections anddepressions, the rows of the projections and depressions offset suchthat the projections and depressions alternate along the length of thematerial. Similarly, Canadian Patent Application No. 2, 149,914describes a stud for use in partition walls where the sheet material toform the stud is provided with projections on opposite surfaces of thematerial to leave a corresponding depression at the opposite face of thematerial, the positions of the projections and depressions at eachsurface of the material being such that lines drawn on the surface ofthe material between adjacent rows of projections and depressions arenot rectilinear. While this arrangement is said to allow the productionof studs from a thinner starting material, the manufacturing processrequired two offset rollers each being provided with projections to formthe projections and depressions on opposite sides of the metal sheet.

Another problem with the use of metal framing members is that as thescrews are being driven into the metal framing member, there is atendency for the flange of the stud or track to deflect from the screwtip pressure and the tip of the screw may slip along the surface of themetal framing member and not be properly driven through the metalframing member at a generally perpendicular angle. Angular screwgripping is especially critical when applying wall sheeting materialsince often when a screw is being installed, the side of the stud ortrack may deflect as pressure is applied to install the screw. Thedeflection of the side wall will create an angle between the screw andthe sidewall, even if the screw is applied at right angles to the wallsheeting material. In the past, manufacturers of metal studs haveprovided a dimpling on the surfaces of the metal stud to capture the tipof the screw and reduce the tendency of the screw to slip along thesurface, but such dimpling creates negligible increased stud strength.

There still remains a need for a lightweight metal framing member whichovercomes the disadvantages of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for a lightweight metal framing memberhaving a plurality of depressions and a plurality of reinforcing ribs onthe surfaces thereof, the depressions and ribs both being inwardlyoriented and cooperating to significantly aid in stiffening of the metalframing member.

In an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a metal framingmember having a plurality of inwardly oriented depressions on thesurfaces of the framing member to aid in stiffening of the metal framemember and enhance screw tip capture. Each of the depressions are formedwith clearly defined edges to enhance screw tip capture of a screwentering the depression irrespective of the angle of entry into thedepression of the screw tip.

In an aspect of the invention, the metal framing member is a stud havinga generally rectangular C shaped cross section with two parallel spacedapart side walls and a central web bridging the side walls with the sidewalls terminating in inturned flanges or ledges. Each of the side walls,ledges and central web are provided with the plurality of depressionsand reinforcing ribs.

In another aspect of the invention, the metal framing member is a trackhaving a generally rectangular U shaped cross section with two parallelspaced apart side walls and a central web bridging the side walls. Eachof the side walls and central web are provided with the plurality ofdepressions and the web is provided with a plurality of reinforcingribs.

In another aspect of the invention, the central web bridging the sidewalls is in the form of a main central section bordered by raised narrowchannel shaped edge ribs.

In another aspect of the invention, each of the depressions has a depthabout 2 to 4 times the thickness of the metal from which the framingmember is formed.

In another aspect of the invention, each of the depressions are round orknurled and have a diameter of about 0.10 inches.

In another aspect of the invention, the depressions are provided as aseries of rows across the surface of the metal framing member.

In another aspect of the invention, the rows of depressions are offsetfrom each other so that the depressions form a diamond pattern on thesurface of the sheet material such that the rows can be moved closertogether, increasing the number of depressions for reinforcement andscrew attachment.

In another aspect of the invention, the spacing between the rows ofdepressions is about 0.10 inches and the spacing between the depressionsin each row is about 0.20 inches.

In another aspect of the invention, the ribs on the surfaces of thestud, except for the narrow edge ribs are arranged diagonally across atleast one half of the width and depth of the stud.

In another aspect of the invention, the ribs have a width of about 0.20to 0.30 inches wide, preferably about 0.25 inches wide and a depth ofabout 0.05 to 0.15 inches deep preferrably about 0.10 inches deep.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofmanufacturing a metal framing member having a plurality of depressionsand a plurality of reinforcing ribs on the surface thereof, thedepressions and ribs both being inwardly oriented and cooperating to aidin stiffening of the metal framing member. The method comprises passinga suitably dimensioned sheet material through a cold roll formingapparatus having a first roller with a plurality of projections on itssurface to press into the sheet metal material and form the depressionsin the surface of the material and a second roller having holescorresponding to the projections of the first roller to provide welldefined edges to the depressions. The sheet material is then passedthrough a second roll forming apparatus having a first roller withprojections on its surface to form the reinforcing ribs in the surfaceof the sheet material and a second roller having a surface to allow fora softer transition between the surface of the sheet material and theedges of the reinforcing ribs as well as to not unduly deform thedepressions within the rib. The sheet material is then passed through athird roll forming apparatus having rollers to form the metal framingmember.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the attacheddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wall constructed utilizing a preferredembodiment of the lightweight metal stud and track of the presentinvention being used to frame a partition wall;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of alightweight metal stud of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of alightweight metal stud of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the capture of a screw tip bythe depression on the surface of the metal stud or track;

FIG. 5 is a cross section view illustrating the capture of a screw tipby the depression on the surface of the metal stud or track;

FIG. 6 is perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a lightweightmetal track of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the depression being applied to thesurface of the metal sheet which is to be formed into a stud or track;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view in cross-section illustrating theforming of the depression on the surface of the metal sheet;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view in cross-section of the metal sheethaving the depressions formed therein;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the reinforcing ribs which extendacross the metal sheet being applied to the sheet;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view in cross-section illustrating theforming of the reinforcing ribs in surface of the metal sheet using acompressible surface roller;

FIG. 12 is a side elevation view in cross-section of the metal sheetwith the depressions and reinforcing ribs formed therein; and

FIG. 13 is a side elevation view in cross section illustrating theforming of the reinforcing ribs in the surface of the metal sheet usingan air bending roller.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to metal framing members such as metalstuds 10 and tracks 12 utilized in framing partition walls 14 asillustrated in FIG. 1. The partition walls 14 are framed from a metaltrack 12 forming the top plates 12 a and bottom plates 12 b that arebridged by the parallel spaced apart metal studs 10. The spacing betweenthe metal studs 10 is that typically utilized in construction of wallsgenerally at 16 inches on center although other spacing such as 24inches on center may be utilized. The studs 10 are attached to the topplate 12 a and bottom plate 12 b through the use of suitable screws 16.Once the partition wall 14 is framed utilizing the studs 10, top plate12 a and bottom plate 12 b, a suitable wall covering material such aswall board 18 is attached to the partition wall utilizing suitablescrews 20.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the metal stud 10 has a generallyC-shaped rectangular cross-section with two parallel spaced apart sidewalls 22 and a central web 24 bridging the side walls 22. The side walls22 terminate in inwardly turned ledges 26. The central web 24 has a maincentral section 24 a bordered by channel shaped ribs 24 b extendinglongitudinally of the stud 10. The longitudinal ribs 24 b extendoutwardly of the stud 10 and aid in stiffening of the central web 24 ofthe stud 10.

The surface of the metal sheet from which the metal stud 10 or tracks 12is formed is provided with a plurality of depressions 28 formed thereinto aid in stiffening of the metal from which the stud 10 or track 12 isformed. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the depressions 28 also aid inpreventing slipping of a screw 20 as it is being driven into the metalstud 10 or track 12 irrespective of the direction in which the screw tipenters the depression 28. Typically as a screw 20 is being driven intothe flange or side wall 22 of a stud 10 or track 12, the pressure of thescrew tip tends to deflect the sidewall, allowing the screw tip to slipalong the surface. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the shaping anddimensions of the depressions 28 capture the screw tip, even when thesidewall 22 is deforming and significantly reduces or elimates thepossibility of screw tip slippage.

In addition to the depressions 28, the metal from which the stud 10 ortrack 12 is formed is also preferably provided with a plurality ofreinforcing projections such as ribs 30 which extend across at least aportion of the sheet to further aid in stiffening of the material fromwhich the stud 10 or track 12 is formed. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate twopreferred embodiments of studs of the present invention with twodifferent patterns of ribs on the surface. The stud 10 illustrated inFIG. 2 has the ribs 30 arranged in a herringbone or chevron pattern,while the stud 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 has the ribs 30 arranged in acrossed diagonal or quilted pattern. As explained below, other patternsmay also be utilized.

Each of the depressions 28 and the reinforcing ribs 30 are formed on thesame surface of the material from which the stud 10 or track 12 is to beformed such that the depressions 28 and reinforcing ribs 30 are orientedto the inside of the formed metal stud 10 or track 12. In this way, thedepressions 28 and ribs 30 do not interfere with the placing of themetal stud 10 within the top 12 a and bottom plates 12 b nor do theyinterfere with the placement of the covering materials 18 on the formedwalls 14. An additional benefit of the provision of the depressions 28on both the stud 10 and track 12 is that as the stud 10 is placed withinthe track 12, the depressions 28 of the stud 10 and track 12 interlockto help hold the stud 10 in the desired location within the track 12during the framing of the partition walls 14.

FIG. 6 illustates a typical track 12 of the present invention which isutilized as a top track 12 a or bottom track 12 b in forming a partitionwall 14. Track 12 has a generally rectangular U shape with two parallelspaced apart side walls 32 and a central web 34 bridging the side walls32. Similar to the stud 10, the track 12 is provided with a plurality ofdepressions 28 formed therein to aid in stiffening of the metal fromwhich the track 12 is formed. In addition to the depressions 28, themetal from which the track 12 is formed is also provided with aplurality of reinforcing projections such as ribs 30 which extend acrossa portion of the central web 34 to further aid in stiffening of thematerial from which the track 12 is formed. Preferably, the ribs 30 arecentrally located in the central web 34 and have a length of about 1 to2 inches. As explained further below, the ribs 30 may also be utilizedfor indexing of the track length for ease of cutting the track 12 in thefield to the desired length as well as for placement of the studs 10 atthe proper spacing within the track 12. By providing the ribs 30 acrossonly a portion of the central web 34 of the track 12, the ribs 30 do notinterfere with the placement of the studs 10 within the track 12.

FIGS. 7 through 9 illustrate the first step in the processing of themetal sheet from which the stud 10 or track 12 is to be constructed. Ametal sheet 38 of a suitable thickness is passed through a cold rollforming apparatus having a first roller 40 with a plurality ofprojections 42 on its surface to press into the sheet metal material 38and form the depressions 28 in the surface of the material. The secondroller 44 of this roll forming apparatus has a surface provided withholes 46 aligned with the projections 42 on the surface of the firstroller 40. In this way, the depressions 28 being formed by the rollers40 and 44 having aligned projections 42 and holes 46 have clearlydefined edges 48 generally aligned with the plane of the metal sheet 38.This is illustrated in detail in FIG. 9 where it is shown that the edges48 between the surface of the sheet material 38 and the depressions 28are clearly defined sharp corners. The provision of the clearly definededges 48 generally aligned with the plane of the metal sheet 38 allows ascrew tip to be captured in the depression 28 at all angles and reducesor virtually eliminates any slipping of a screw 16 or 20 as it is beingdriven into the framing member.

The number, size, spacing and shape of the depressions 28 is selected toprovide the desired reinforcement to the sheet material from which thestud or track will be formed. Preferrably, as illustrated in thefigures, the depressions 28 are provided as a series of rows offset fromeach other so that the depressions 28 form a diamond pattern on thesurface of the sheet material. By offsetting the rows of depressions 28,the depressions 28 can be placed closer together, providing a largernumber of depressions 28 on the metal sheet 38 increasing thereinforcement of the metal sheet 38 as well as further reducing thepossibility of screw tip slippage. The spacing between the rows ofdepressions 28 is typically on the order of about 0.10 inches and thedepressions 28 are spaced apart in the row about 0.20 inches. Thus, thedepressions 28 adjacent each other in adjacent rows would be spacedapart about 0.144 inches. While these dimensions are preferred,variations of the dimensions may be used. While various shapes of thedepressions can be selected such as circular, oval or diamond,preferrably, each of the depressions 28 is circular in shape having adiameter of approximately 0.10 inches and a depth of approximately 0.03to 0.06 inches deep, preferrably about 0.04 to 0.05 inches deep. For atypical metal sheet 38, this results in the projections on the oppositeside of the metal sheet 38 having a thickness of approximately 2-4 timesthe thickness of the metal sheet material.

Once the depressions 28 are formed in the metal sheet material 38, themetal sheet material 38 is then passed through a second roll formingapparatus having a first roller 50 with projections 52 on its surface toform the reinforcing ribs 30 in the surface of the sheet material 38.This second apparatus also has a second roller 54 which allows for asofter transition between the surface of the sheet material and theedges of the reinforcing ribs 30. As shown in FIG. 13, the second roller54 could be provided with an enlarged opening to allow for air bendingof the rib 30 or as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, it could be provided witha compressible surface such as polyurethane. The use of such a secondroller 54 provides that any of the depressions 28, especially thosewhich are within the ribs 30 are not unduly deformed or flattened out aswould be the case if the second roller was a hard material. Rather thedepressions 28 remain generally intact within the interior of thereinforcing rib 30. This provides for further reinforcement to the metalsheet material 38 as well as retaining the screw gripping property ofthe depressions 28 within the rib 30. Preferably, to fully retain thescrew gripping property of the rib 30, the rollers of the secondapparatus are oriented such that a row of screw gripping depressions 28will be present and formed in the apex of every rib 30.

As illustrated in the figures, preferrably the ribs 30 have a widthapproximately 0.20 to 0.3 inches wide, preferably about 0.25 inches wideand a depth approximately 0.05 to 0.15 inches deep preferrably about 0.1inches deep.

Once the sheet material 38 has been passed through the roll formingapparatus to form the depressions 28 and reinforcing ribs 30 in thesurface, it is then passed through the typical roll forming apparatus toform the final C-channel shape of the metal stud 10 or U-channel shapeof the track 12.

While in the preferred embodiment illustrated, the reinforcing ribs 30which extend across the metal sheet from which the stud 10 is formed area herringbone or chevron shape or a quilted pattern, other shapes ofreinforcing ribs 30 may also be provided which will provide for therequired stiffening of the sheet material 38. For the track 12,preferably the ribs 30 extend horizontally across only a portion of thesurface of the material 38 from which the central web 34 of the track 12is formed and do not extend to the sidewalls 32. The absence of ribs 30adjacent to or on the sidewalls 32 of the track 12 allows for a betterfit between the stud 10 and track 12 and better interlock of the studand track depressions 28. By eliminating the ribs 30 in the verticallyoriented sidewalls 32 of the track 12, the stud 10 and track 12 willinterlock on assembly and the depressions 28 on the stud 10 and track 12being equally spaced will also interlock providing free standing studlocation until the screws 16 are applied to firmly join the stud 10 andtrack 12. In addition, by the proper spacing of the ribs 30, the ribs 30may also be utilized for indexing of the track length for ease ofcutting the track 12 in the field to the desired length as well as forplacement of the studs 10 at the proper spacing within the track 12. Forexample, the ribs 30 could be provided every 1 inch along the length ofthe track 12 to provide a built in indexing ruler for the track.

The method and apparatus used to form the depressions and reinforcingribs 30 is usable with any size stud 10 or track 12 because of theorientation and pattern of the depressions 28 and reinforcing ribs 30.In this way, separate apparatus are not needed to produce the typical1⅝, 2½ inch, 3⅝ inch, 6 inch or 8 inch studs and tracks. Rather, thefeed fences for the apparatus are adjusted such that the sheet materialfor forming the stud or track is fed centered on the rollers of the rollforming apparatus.

The metal framing members of the present invention provide for a metalstud and track having increased strength compared to metal studs andtracks made from plain sheet material of the same thickness. Inaddition, the provision of the depressions on the surface of the metalframing member as well as the shaping of the depressions allows forcapture of the tip of the screw as it is being driven through the metalframing member reducing the likelihood of the screw slipping along thesurface of the metal framing member irrespective of angle at which thescrew tip encounters the sidewall as a result of the sidewall deflectionduring assembly causing an angular intersection between the screw tipand the sidewall.

Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilledin the art that variations may be made thereto without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A lightweight metal framing member formed from a sheet ofmetal having a plurality of depressions and a plurality of reinforcingribs extending across on the surface thereof, the depressions and ribsboth being inwardly oriented and cooperating to aid in stiffening of themetal framing member.
 2. A lightweight metal framing member according toclaim 1, wherein the metal framing member is a metal stud having agenerally rectangular C shaped cross section with two parallel spacedapart side walls and a central web bridging the side walls, said sidewalls terminating in inturned ledges.
 3. A lightweight metal studaccording to claim 2, wherein each of the depressions has a depth about2 to 4 times the thickness of the metal from which the stud is formed.4. A lightweight metal stud according to claim 3, wherein each of thedepressions is round or knurled and has a diameter of about 0.10 inches.5. A lightweight metal stud according to claim 4, wherein thedepressions are provided as a series of rows across the surface of themetal sheet from which the stud was formed.
 6. A lightweight metal studaccording to claim 5, wherein the rows of depressions are offset fromeach other so that the depressions form a diamond pattern on the surfaceof the sheet material from which the stud was formed and may be locatedcloser together.
 7. A lightweight metal stud according to claim 6,wherein the spacing between the rows of depressions is about 0.10 inchesand the spacing between the depressions in each row is about 0.20inches.
 8. A lightweight metal stud according to claim 7, wherein theribs are arranged diagonally across at least one half of the width ofthe metal sheet from which the stud was formed.
 9. A lightweight metalstud according to claim 8, wherein the ribs have a width of about 0.20to 0.3 inches wide, and a depth of about 0.05 to 0.15 inches deep.
 10. Amethod of manufacturing a metal framing member having a plurality ofdepressions and a plurality of reinforcing ribs on the surface thereof,the depressions and ribs both being inwardly oriented and cooperating toaid in stiffening of the metal framing member, the method comprises a)passing a suitably dimensioned metal sheet material through a cold rollforming apparatus having a first roller with a plurality of projectionson its surface and a second roller having a surface provided with holesaligned with the projections on the surface of the first roller to formthe depressions in the surface of the material having clearly definededges generally aligned with the plane of the metal sheet, b) passingthe sheet material through a second roll forming apparatus having afirst roller with projections on its surface to form the reinforcingribs in the surface of the sheet material and a second roller to allowfor a softer transition between the surface of the sheet material andthe edges of the reinforcing ribs and not unduly deform or flatten anyof the depressions formed in the first roll forming apparatus, and c)passing the sheet material through a third roll forming apparatus havingrollers to form the metal framing member.
 11. A method of manufacturinga metal framing member according to claim 10 wherein the reinforcingribs extend diagonally across at least one half of the surface of thesheet material and the first roll forming apparatus and second rollforming apparatus are aligned such that a row of depressions is formedat the apex of each of the reinforcing ribs.
 12. A lightweight metalstud formed from a sheet of metal having rows of depressions and rows ofreinforcing ribs extending across the surface thereof, the depressionsand ribs being inwardly oriented and cooperating to stiffen said sheet,said metal stud formed from said sheet having a generally rectangular Ccross-section having a central web between spaced side walls, said sidewalls terminating in inturned ledges.
 13. A lightweight metal stud asclaimed in claim 12 in which said central web comprises a main centralsection bordered by channel shaped ribs extending longitudinally of saidstud, said longitudinal channel shaped ribs projecting beyond said maincentral web section in a direction opposite to the inwardly orientedrows of reinforcing ribs and projections.
 14. A lightweight metal studas claimed in claim 13 wherein each of said depressions has a depth ofabout 2 to 4 times the thickness of the metal from which the stud isformed.
 15. A lightweight metal stud according to claim 14 wherein eachof the depressions is round and has a diameter of about 0.10 inches. 16.A lightweight metal stud according to claim 15 wherein the rows ofdepressions are offset from each other so that the depressions arecloser together and form a diamond pattern on the surface of the sheetmaterial from which the stud was formed.
 17. A lightweight metal studaccording to claim 13 wherein the spacing between the rows ofdepressions is about 0.10 inches and the spacing between the depressionsin each row is about 0.20 inches.
 18. A lightweight metal stud accordingto claim 17 wherein the ribs are arranged diagonally across at least onehalf of the width of the metal sheet from which the stud was formed. 19.A lightweight metal stud according to claim 18 wherein the ribs at awidth of about 0.20 to 0.3 inches, and a depth of about 0.05 to 0.15inches.
 20. A method as claimed in claim 10 in which said first rollerin step (a) forms said depressions in a diamond shaped arrangement. 21.A method as claimed in claim 20 in which said first roller in step (b)forms said reinforcing ribs so that they are at an angle to a line drawntransversely of the width of said metal sheet.
 22. A method as claimedin claim 20 in which said first roller in step (b) forms saidreinforcing ribs so that they have a herringbone or quilted pattern. 23.A lightweight metal framing member according to claim 1, wherein themetal framing member is a metal track having a generally rectangular Ushaped cross section with two parallel spaced apart side walls and acentral web bridging the side walls.
 24. A lightweight metal trackaccording to claim 23, wherein each of the depressions has a depth about2 to 4 times the thickness of the metal from which the stud is formed.25. A lightweight metal track according to claim 24, wherein each of thedepressions is round or knurled and has a diameter of about 0.10 inches.26. A lightweight metal track according to claim 25, wherein thedepressions are provided as a series of rows across the surface of themetal sheet from which the track was formed.
 27. A lightweight metaltrack according to claim 26, wherein the rows of depressions are offsetfrom each other so that the depressions are closer together and form adiamond pattern on the surface of the sheet material from which thetrack was formed.
 28. A lightweight metal track according to claim 27,wherein the spacing between the rows of depressions is about 0.10 inchesand the spacing between the depressions in each row is about 0.20inches.
 29. A lightweight metal track according to claim 28, wherein theribs are arranged horizontally across a portion of the width of themetal sheet from which central web of the track was formed.
 30. Alightweight metal track according to claim 29, wherein the ribs have awidth of about 0.20 to 0.3 inches wide, and a depth of about 0.05 to0.15 inches deep.
 31. A lightweight metal track according to claim 30,wherein the ribs are evenly spaced along the length of the web of thetrack to provide an indexing of the length of the track.
 32. Alightweight metal framing member formed from a sheet of metal having aplurality of depressions on the surface thereof, the depressions beinginwardly oriented to aid in stiffening of the metal framing member andhaving clearly defined edges to enhance screw tip capture of a screwentering the depression irrespective of the angle of entry into thedepression of the screw tip.
 33. A lightweight metal framing memberaccording to claim 32, wherein each of the depressions has a depth about2 to 4 times the thickness of the metal from which the framing member isformed.
 34. A lightweight metal framing member according to claim 33,wherein each of the depressions is round or knurled and has a diameterof about 0.10 inches.
 35. A lightweight metal framing member accordingto claim 34, wherein the depressions are provided as a series of rowsacross the surface of the metal sheet from which the stud was formed.36. A lightweight metal framing member according to claim 35, whereinthe rows of depressions are offset from each other so that thedepressions form a diamond pattern on the surface of the sheet materialfrom which the framing member was formed and may be located closertogether.
 37. A lightweight metal framing member according to claim 36,wherein the spacing between the rows of depressions is about 0.10 inchesand the spacing between the depressions in each row is about 0.20inches.
 38. A method according to claim 10 wherein said second roller ofstep (b) has a compressible surface.
 39. A method according to claim 38wherein said second roller of step (b) is a polyurethane roller.
 40. Amethod according to claim 10 wherein said second roller of step (b) isprovided with openings larger than the projections on the surface of thefirst roller of step (b) to allow for air bending of the ribs.